Letters to the Editor
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Iokannan in the Well
No I keep hearing "IT WILL HAPPEN" "IT MAY HAVE ALREADY HAPPENED" as utterly unqualified statements.
All I'm asking you to provide is some specific evidence that it either
A) absolutely will as guaranteed by the blogging class
or
B) secretly already has
Seems that your 250 word diatribes skipping around madly for yet another metaphor miss the mark on this one simple point.
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RealName's inability to comprehend plain english
Seems that your 250 word diatribes skipping around madly for yet another metaphor miss the mark on this one simple point.
It seems we aren't speaking the same language.
I have stated in as unambiguous language as possible that an armed conflict with Iran has not yet occured, but is distinct possibility given the actions and statements of the Bush Administration and its supporters.
To repeat, this time in big letters: IT HASN'T HAPPENED YET, BUT IT VERY WELL COULD SOMETIME SOON.
Simple enough, eh?
If you want to play rhetorical 'gotcha' games, do it with someone else. My primary concern is the current trajectory of events on the ground in the northern Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf.
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Nostradamus in the Well
when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when?
I've been hearing people telling me to shut up for 3 YEARS because it was any day now.........ok when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when? when?
You're the guys who are still saying "Hold on it could be tomorrow.........." for years and years and years and years and years and years and years and years and years.
Ok, tomorrow? next month next decade? Cmon you've been telling me it's a lock since 2003. A LOCK. A PROMISE. A solid gold guarantee.
When? Cmon commit already. Those are your words, not mine. You keep overpromising and underdelivering.
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RealName, you need to learn to read
Cmon commit already. Those are your words, not mine.
They aren't mine, and this is where you either need to learn how to read or get serious psychological help.
I've made my own position clear. You wish to hold me accountable for the words of others, that's your affair.
You're officially shrouded for the remainder of the semister.
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So does that mean it wont happen, you don't know
Or does it mean you reserve the right to sit around for a couple three more years or decades and then if it does happen, spring up and shout "SEE SEE I told you!!!!"
I mean guarantees are forever, aren't they?
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@swatopluck
Not to one-up your pessimism, but it seems likely to me that "not completely rational beings" already are in possession of considerable nuclear firepower, if not the majority of the world's nuclear firepower.
That being written, there doesn't need to be a coup for the Pakistani powers-that-be to peddle their wares on the world market. Musharraf does not control his security and intelligence forces; he is controlled by them. If they wish to sell nuclear assets, Musharraf is probably not in a position to stop them.
A.Q. Khan did more than his share to spread the nuclear wealth. The most likely scenario is that all the major players, both state and non-state, who have the budget and a desire to possess a nuclear weapon already possess one, if only one or two small ones. If the Taliban or al-Qaeda have been unable to get their hands on a low-yield nuclear device, it's been dumb luck and a sellers' market that has stopped them. (One hopes, if only from patriotism, that some well-funded blackest-of-black American cloak-and-daggery has stood in the way, but I think that is unlikely.)
Pakistan's own nuclear program is not entirely home-grown. Chinese technology has seeped into the market through North Korea for God knows how long.
I have a bad record for making predictions, but I think it's more likely that a nuclear weapon will be used in the next 25 years than not. (And if I'm putting on my pointy Nostradamus cap, I'd say the most likely American target is Houston.)
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There are NO guarantees of anything anymore
I mean guarantees are forever, aren't they?
No, they aren't. Gods and godesses and all the angels and demons ever named willing, there will be no attack on Iran.
But then look at who is presently in the White House, and tell me you feel any confidence in their ability to manage delicate circumstances like we are all facing today.
I pray they won't do something stupid. I fear they will do something very, very stupid. I can only hope at least some of us survive whatever comes next.
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the risks of staying
But Glenn:
I've heard a number of correspondents and analysts interviewed on NPR and elsewhere who do think there would be some pretty dire consequences and mayhem if we were to pull out right now. I'm talking smart people, many of whom have spent a great deal of time in Iraq lately, and have no ties to the neocons or Administration. Do you acknowledge this is a legitimate point for debate, at least?
Thanks for your blog, by the way. I'm a daily addict.